Kids and Technology

FITC Screens 2013

/ Andrew / Leave a comment

Very exciting to be presenting “What You Can Learn From a 4 Year Old About Ponies and Mobile UX” at FITC Screen 2013.

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Look at mobile from a child’s perspective to gain insight to practical take-a-ways for implementation with real world examples. See how storytelling, usability and interactive design change the mobile user experience when designed and developed with a four year in mind.

In this session, explore a project case study involving the UX for the various mobile platforms and decisions regarding navigation, content strategy based on testing the user experience with my 4 year old daughter by changing to kid friendly content and images.

Take advantage of the humbling and brutal honesty of kids to build practical and engaging mobile web applications. Feedback was used to make changes to the RWD site’s user experience and the content strategy. If you can engage a 4 year old with good UX, you can certainly engage the target market with good UI/UX, presentation and navigation.

Answer the pressing question “where are the ponies?” in your mobile UX.

 

Design Considerations for Little Fingers

/ Andrew

Designing interfaces and apps for kids is not just a matter of simplification or making the buttons bigger — it requires us to consider interaction models and user experience from the child’s perspective. Children are curious, inquisitive and love to explore. They will touch and interact with everything on screen, searching to discover content interactions within the interface… (Continue Reading on Medium)

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User Generated Product

/ Andrew

We are moving from a world of User Generated Content to one filled with User Generated Product.  With the the introduction of (relatively) inexpensive 3d printers like Thing-O-Matic by MakerBot Industries and web-based tools to create 3D models and renderings, we now can design, create and print our own products; not digital content, but physical objects and products.  Prototyping and manufacturing can now be done in your office, with technology that is no different than what is used to lay out a newsletter or webpage.  Don’t know how to model or use 3D software? Thing-O-Matic has spawned its own online open source community, Thingiverse, filled with libraries, files, tutorials and software tweaks.

The current cost of a 3D printer may not be in everyone’s budget. But over time, prices will become more affordable and 3D printers be will in every home, much like an ink jet printer. Only with this printer you can print out and replace that broken part on the coffee maker, prototype a widget or your kid can design and print their own collectible action figures.

This paradigm shift will change not only how we design and create, but how we deploy our ideas. Our children will be the greatest beneficiaries from this new paradigm.

Kids will adapt and fully utilize technologies. See previous post – Kids and Robots